Ray delivers in opener, but Miners come up short in nightcap

Photo by Daniel Freel/New Jersey Herald — Sussex County's Jayce Ray follows through on a line drive to first in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Ottawa Champions at Skylands Stadium in Frankford. Ray drove in two runs in the fifth inning of the first game to lead the Miners to a 4-3 win.

FRANKFORD -- After having to sit on a six-game losing streak for two days due to consecutive rainouts, the Sussex County Miners returned to action with some ups and some downs in a doubleheader with the Ottawa Champions.

Sussex County snapped the skid with a 4-3 win in game one, but could not make it a sweep following a 7-3 loss in the second game on Wednesday at Skylands Stadium.

The Miners recorded their 16th consecutive home win -- setting a new Can-Am League record in the process -- when Jayce Ray recorded the game-winning two-run single in the bottom of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and two outs to break a 2-2 tie.

Making his Miners debut coming over from Rockland after being claimed off waivers, reliever Matt Kostalos came into a precarious position in the top of the sixth inning to protect that lead and got the job done.

Ottawa chased Kenny Koplove from the game and cut its deficit in half to 4-3. Kostalos came in with runners on first and second with no outs. On his first Miners pitch, he induced an easy double play off the bat of Vincent Guglietti.

He was able to get out of the inning with another soft grounder by Chase Harris.

ElHajj Muhammad continued to make the new-look Miners bullpen an early success by locking down the ninth inning with an easy 1-2-3 save. Former closer Alex Demchak is now with the Boston Red Sox and Kevin Grendell is on the disabled list.

Game one resumed from Tuesday after being suspended with Ottawa leading 1-0 headed into the bottom of the first.

After walking to lead off the game for the Miners, Breeland Almadova broke the single season Sussex County steals record by swiping second for his 42st stolen base.

Sean Bierman made his season debut for the Miners to start the game on Tuesday, allowing a run in the top of the first. It's his second stint with Sussex County after he allowed eight earned runs in 10 innings last season.

In 2015, Bierman was 10-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 1152/3 innings for the Somerset Patriots. He did not keep pitching yesterday as Kenny Koplove took over to begin the second inning.

The Miners did not hit the ball particularly hard in the bottom of the second inning, but still managed to score two runs on five singles to grab a 2-1 lead. Audy Ciriaco led the rally off with a single to left and was moved to second with two outs by a Luis Alen single.

Jarred Mederos snuck a single through the left side of the infield to score Ciriaco and tie the score. Alen could not score off an Almadova single, which set the stage for Jared McDonald with the opportunity to do damage in his Miners debut.

He drove in a run, but probably not the way he envisioned it in what will likely be his softest hit of the year. McDonald hit a cue shot that hit the lip of the grass in foul territory and then took an unexpected turn back into fair territory for an infield single.

McDonald was also claimed off waivers from Rockland and had been with the Boulders since 2015. This season, he is hitting .285 with six home runs and 26 RBI. His on-base percentage stands at .342, and he also has posted a OPS of .772. The 30-year old outfielder never hit below .273 in any season with Rockland.

Interestingly enough, McDonald holds the record for most consecutive games reaching base in a single Can-Am season (61) and overall in the minors (75, covering two seasons).

A home run over all three walls in left field by Ottawa shortstop Danny Brick tied the score, 2-2, in the top of the third.

McDonald received some more good fortune in the bottom of the fifth inning. After Almadova started things off with his second single of the game, McDonald reached first on an error following a sac bunt. The glove scoop throw by pitcher Steve Borkowski was dropped by Guglietti at first.

This eventually set Ray up to deliver the game's biggest hit.

The pitching matchup for game two was a doozy with Jordan Kurokawa on the mound for Ottawa opposing Michael Wagner of Sussex County. Kurokawa came into the evening leading the Can-Am League with a 2.07 ERA.

Wagner has been a nice find for the Miners coming over in a trade for Rubi Silva and entered the outing 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA at Skylands Stadium.

After looking like he would get out of an initial jam in the second inning, Wagner ended up putting the Miners in a two-run hole. With runners on first and third with no outs, he struck out Brian Portelli swinging and got Osney Guillen looking on a perfectly spotted fastball on the outside corner for the second out.

However, Wagner then fired a fastball high over the head of Christian Correa for a wild pitch and a run. A RBI single by ninth hitter Tyler Nordgren made the score 2-0 in favor of the Champions.

A Steve Brown sac fly added another run for Ottawa in the top of the third for a 3-0 lead. The Champions chased Wagner from the game in the sixth inning when they put up a three-spot to blow the game open.

That was more than enough runs for Kurokawa to cruise and give Ottawa the split. It is fitting that it took a pitcher of his caliber to finally snap the Miners' home winning streak.

Kurokawa is not a high velocity guy as he was only reaching 90 mph on a few occasions, but a pause in his delivery, outstanding command and a myriad of offspeed pitches kept Sussex County off balance all evening.

Despite only striking out two hitters, Kurokawa sliced and diced through the league's best performing offense with ease. He only allowed one earned run on three hits over six innings with no walks.

Correa recorded two hits for the Miners with a single in the third inning and a double in the sixth. Mikey Reynolds hit his first home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh inning where Sussex County made a run at a huge comeback by bringing the tying run to the plate with no outs.

Correa struck out on a pitch in the dirt, Alen popped up a ball that was dropped at third base, but was ruled out because of the infield fly rule and Almadova ended it by flying out to right field.

Sussex County will now head back on the road for a four-game set at Trois-Rivieres before returning home on Tuesday for the remainder of next week.

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